I had this interesting conversation with my 2 year-old yesterday. [It's STILL surreal to think that he's already 2 (2 days ago). I have to get used counting his age by years and not by months. hmmmm or I can choose both.]. It’s nice that my little cave man has learned to communicate like a real human (or at least trying to be) showing the right manners .

So while I was puttering with the PC, he took my hand and pulled me.

Adie: Come mama, come. (saying it in his very soft voice).

He stands on the kiddie table placed beside the cabinet where some of the toys are hidden. Motions me to “Open it, please“. ( rubs palms together, which is typical for Czech kids when they want something while saying please. That’s the first time I saw him doing that!)

Adie: “This one”. (points to the cabinet)

I tried to bribe him first before following his request.

Me: Hug mama, Adie. hug mama!”

Adie: Ne! (He pushes me away defiantly).

Me: huhuhu (I gave a fake cry).

Adie: Sorry. (regret plastered all over his face).

I gave him another sad look, he reaches for my head and caressed it. Whoa! I didn’t see it coming! I sure was surprised!

Adie: Sorry (he repeats and points to the cabinet).

Adie: Open it. (opens the cabinet).

Adie: This one. (he points to the book with alphabet blocks).

He settled on the table with his choice of “toy” while I was left in awe over his maturity. LOL! It only shows that kids are easily influenced by what they always see and hear. There will come a time, when he’s all grown-up, when our conversations will be serious and probably lean towards technical subject like pentair pool pumps as this boy is curious how toys or things in general work. I’d surely miss this simple talks with my innocent child.

Here’s the little tyke… pa simple lang! hehe

My kids prefer the PC over TV, that’s why we’ve given up our cable subscription coz they’d rather watch their favorite kiddie movies and music videos from Youtube. There are a lot of cool music videos (even educational ones) which they love to sing or dance along. Adie especially likes music and gets bored with kid shows that are all blah, blah, blah.  Thanks to youtube downloader, I can have copies of their favorites saved in our hard drive. Current video faves of the kids are from Tutitu, Super Simple Songs and Mother Goose Club channels. User nay1115 also have nice videos which Caity and Adie recently discovered. Now my head is filled with silly kids’ songs… “Daddy Finger, Daddy Finger, where are you? Here I am, here I am. How do you do?”    “One little calf is sitting on a hot pot, bursting into tears. Help, mom! Help, mom! Oh my butt is burning up.” The latter is actually my personal favorite coz I sing it with funny actions and expressions which sends the kids to fit of giggles!  We’re crazy like that.

We checked out the newly opened indoor playground in Galerie Butovice one weekday. M had three days off from work, it’s like having a loooonnnggg weekend! Me and the kids, so happy. (:

From one ride to another…

Trying the trampoline…

Notice how Adie’s cheeks are flushed red, probably from all the excitement.

You can camp here with the kids as long as you want.  The entrance fee per kid is 99 czk (about 5 USD), for unlimited time. Adults are free.  There’s a restaurant where you can order food if you get hungry, prices are affordable.  The kids will surely have a grand time playing with the slides, swing, trampolines, tunnels, ball pools, ride-on toys, play house or they can get creative and sit down to color/draw.  If that isn’t enough, there are also lessons in dancing, drama, exercise and lots more.  They also accept babysitting. And they have friendly staff.

I left M and the kids here for sometime for some gift-shopping.  How convenient! We definitely like this place.  We’ll come back here, that’s for sure.

Taking a break.

While waiting for our order…

Back to playing…

Caity driving the battery-operated bike.

A kiss of gratitude?

Tired, yet happy parents coz we’ve got happy kids!

As expected, the kids complained when we told them it was time to go home.  Good thing they were given coins upon signing in which they can exchange for candies/sweets.  That made our exit easy. hehe

Linking up for:
Colorful Weekend
Kids in Doodles

We had a pleasant two days last weekend.  Summer decided to stick around (it should be coz according to the calendar, its still SUMMER!) and we took advantage of that.  It was a mix of fun, nature, relaxation and lots of sun!

Saturday
The family joined the Pohádkový Les in Butovice.  Both M and I were clueless what’s it all about.  M thought it was a walk in the forest where you pass by fairytale creatures/characters. We were looking for an activity outdoor coz of the nice weather and this one sounded interesting.

We had to pay an entrance fee of about $3 each except for little Adie.  As soon as we got inside the fenced area, all the fun stuff for the kids greeted us.  There were FREE pony rides, face painting, bouncy castles, painting, drawing, coloring, balloons, and lots of other free goodies (lollipops, bracelets, cookies) handed out to the kids as we walked along the street. Unfortunately our Caity was in a sour mood and didn’t want to participate in any of those.  She refused to have her faced painted, refused to have her picture taken with Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, refused to color…. it was all NO for her. But she asked for a cotton candy which we had to pay. Geeez! I guess she doesn’t like free stuff. Haha!

It turned out that the kids have to do some challenges or obstacle games along the walk in the “forest”.  I thought it would be a quiet walk, enjoying nature but heh! it tired us out!  We had to follow the trail of the game, line up in queues, hike down then up under the heat of the sun.  Kafoy!!!  My tongue was sticking out after we successfully finished the challenge in about 3-4 hours!  It was too much of a walk for small kids.  M had to carry Caity on his shoulder at the middle of the game.  Unfortunately, Caity didn’t do the first challenge, so she didn’t get any prize at the end.  What was the prize, we had no idea.  Being able to finish it was enough for us.  Caity obliged to pose with Winnie the Pooh & Piglet later, but it was forced. She had a grumpy look! Anyway, she got to ride the pony on our way out, and that sealed her time there with happiness.

1. first challenge, bow & arrow. 2. caity picking coins from the bucket.
3. fishing (the woman looks like she’s wearing Cherokee scrubs). 4. lining up for Caity’s turn. Do you see Snow White?

The kids were still full of energy when we got home so we took them out with their bikes, and they enjoyed going on the sloped concrete ground right outside our home. If that wasn’t enough, Caity asked to go to the playground, where she had fun in the tunnel slide.  We went home past 7.  It was a long day but fun-filled.

Sunday

It was more relaxed.  After going to church and a little shopping, we went to the “beach” named Machovo Jezero (or translated in English, Macha Lake) .  Okay it was the closest you can call a beach in Czech Republic.  Macha Lake is actually a man-made lake which was developed into a beach with imported sand.  Many people flock there especially during warm days.  When we were there,  teenagers arrived in throngs and it was even getting late.  You can just imagine how crowded it is on peak times.

It was almost 4 in the afternoon when we got there, not bad coz the sun wasn’t that painful on the skin anymore.  The kids slept along the way, their little bodies recharged for what was to come. As soon as they saw the sand and water, they just scrambled to it.  M and I had time to relax while watching them play.  He even fell asleep lying there in the sand.

You can tell the kids had an awesome time, right?

Thank you Lord for these beautiful moments spent with the family!

I’ll be posting more pics of Caity in her blog. (:

M was in Zurich this week to watch the concert of his fave singer, Cyndi Lauper. (: He spent two days there; days prior to that, he was spending an average of 12 hours in the office. There were days when the kids didn’t see him. Fortunately, my friend and her son were with us, so the kids didn’t really notice their dad’s absence. Anyway, M deserved the break and seeing his beloved Cyndi perform live really made him happy.  He said he was less than 2 meters away from her!  Too close!

He came back with sweet and lovely treats for us.  More than 4 kilos of Swiss chocs, ref magnets (I’m collecting ‘em!) and other Swiss souvenirs; and freshly picked zucchinis from my friend’s garden.

But more importantly, it was his presence that mattered.  The kids were delighted to see their dad after 3 days.  Fortunately M didn’t have to report to work for the remaining days of the week.  We’ve been spending our time taking walks, playing in the playground, at one time looking for the missing hypoallergenic earrings, and then lately, we’re busy preparing for our long holiday in Finland. Weeeee! So far we’ve done shopping and washing our clothes, no packing happening yet!  Once our clothes get dry, we’ll start the work!  (:

It’s Labor Day today, so my M is out working in the office (on a Sunday, which he shouldn’t supposed to be, but he has to!) huhuhu. I’m sneaking in here to post some pics of our Easter celebration, before I forget. to do it. It was actually post-Easter coz we met with M’s family on Easter Monday for lunch. (:  It was a great day.  The kids had a grand time being with their grandparents and uncle who flew in from Barcelona whom they seldom see.

Easter lamb cake baked by Mam.

Caity, M, Ori the poodle and Maminka.

Adie was trying to take the glass of wine from his Uncle Tomas, while I watched in amusement.

Dad, Adie and I… do I have under eye dark circles? Not that obvious!
…

*Photos above are courtesy of Maminka’s new camera.
Photos below were taken by me. (:

Caity looking very happy with the cake.

This was on Tuesday… Caity had lots of chocolate eggs to eat!

And since we weren’t able to color Easter eggs on Easter, we did it on Tuesday too. I used crayons as we didn’t have paints or pentel pens. Gotta be resourceful! Caity ate like 4 eggs after our coloring session. hehe

Hehehehe I find this too cute with Adie peeking from behind.

My mom has been asking me to post more often in Caity’s site. The last post there was December 2010. Teehee And what’s the date today? Anyway, I told her I am always busy handling two kids, the house and can’t barely even find time for my work online. Buhohohooooo. M as ever is loaded with work and sometimes have to work from home. If only there is an emergency assistance I can call on when I need to take a break from mama matters and concentrate on the blog.

Anyway, in lieu of Happy Caity posts, I’ll just fill this space with some cute pictures of her grandkids for her viewing pleasure. This is for Ma ‘My!

Fave hang-out place!  inside the closet …. (:

Adie’s ride…

“Good morning Caity!” just woke up, camping with the dogs in the sofa while eating her toast for breakfast.

Pa-cute. (:

One more! (:

The living room is the center of our activities at home. This is where the kids and I spend most of our time.  It’s has basically become our entertainment area, the kids’ play area and my work area too.  Caity has her kiddie table and chairs there where she colors, paints, plays with her puzzles, and sometimes she even eats there.  The TV, hubby’s and my PCs are there too.

My desk where my PC is sitting on has 4 drawers on the right which is filled with an assortment of things.  Adie has learned how to reach and pull things and naturally the drawers were his latest victims. Uhuhuh… Yesterday I couldn’t count how many times he had opened the drawers and took out some things from there, and me running after him, getting what it was he had in his hands and putting it back in the drawer and closing it.  This went on and on throughout the day. It could be an activity that can give the best fat burner a run for its money but when I have other things to do, it can be annoying!

Two months ago, M presented the idea of getting me a new desk coz the one I’m using is too long, but I declined it.  I didn’t find it necessary to get a new desk when the one I’m using practically still served its use, not until yesterday.  I thought huhhh, I think this is the right time to replace the desk with a new one which doesn’t have drawers so little Adie won’t have drawers to pull anymore.  When I told M about it, he didn’t comment much.

So today, I took matters into my own hands with the help of a pair of scissors and a packing tape.  I taped the drawers to the sides and ta nan!!! problem solved! Ain’t I clever? hahaha

That’s the tiramisu M (and Caity, who “helped” him) made for us, a labor of love.

Honestly girls, would you rather receive an iphone 3g, a diamond ring or something especially made by a loved one on V-day? Well, you don’t have to share your answer with me.  Just ask your heart what truly matters to you most.

Anyway, I’ve been eating a lot of this calorific goodness since M made it. huhuhu  Its really ruining my diet!  How can I resist it, its just so yummy! Even the kids like eating it too.

I love you too, Caity!

While putting her to nap earlier, I asked Caity to sing for me.

Me: sing a song for mama.

Caity: twinkle little star?

Me: sure!

Caity sang and in the middle of the song, she wriggled out from my arms.  I wondered why.  When I opened my eyes I saw her doing the actions. hehehe

After she sang…

Me: thank you, Caity.

Caity: you’re welcome, Mama.

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Little Adie already knows how to kiss!  When I tell him to “kiss mama”, he bends his head towards my face and smack, I get a wet kiss coz his lips are open. Hahahhaa it seems he wants to eat my face instead of kissing me.

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I’ll be sharing a sweet tiramisu later with hubby, especially made by him.

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hay LOVEEEE!  Let’s spread LOVE people!